Estate Planning – Terms
Last Will & Testament – Terms and Definitions
Will: A legal document that dictates the rights and distribution of the person’s (the testator) property or family after death. A Will is also known as a Last Will and Testament.
Testator: The person making the Will
Estate: All of the real and personal property owned by the person at the time of death.
Real Property: Land and improvements located on the land, oil, gas and mineral rights.
Personal Property: All property other than real property including cash and bank accounts, household furnishing, motor vehicles, stocks and bonds, life insurance policies and government, retirement or employee benefits.
Probate: The legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person.
Bequest: A gift in the form of personal property.
Executor: The person that is designated to administer the estate according to the whished outlined in the will. An executor is also known as a personal representative.
Legal Guardian: The person that has the legal authority and responsibilities to care for minor children after the death of parents.
Codicil: An amendment to a will
Intestate: A person that has NOT created a will prior to death is said to be intestate.
Testate: A person that HAS created a will prior to death is testate.
Living Will: A legal document that expresses the wishes regarding medical decisions to be executed when the author is incapacitated and unable to act on their own behalf.
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Tags: bequest, codicil, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Terms, executor, intestate, legal guardian, living will, probate, testate, testator
Colleen’s Bio
Colleen enjoys writing to help other people achieve their goals. Hopefully the information provided here will provide you a good start to creating your own estate plan.